Dumping-hopper.



PATENTED OCT. 10, 1905.

J. L. SEARFOSS.

DUMPING HOPPER.

APPLICATION FILED MARM, 1005.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 801,550. PATENTED (JCT. 10, 1905. J. L. SEARPOSS.

DUMPING HOPPER.

APPLICATION FILED MAE.14,1905.

Z SHEETSSHBET 2.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DUMPlNG-HOPPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905.

Application filed March 14, 1905. Serial No. 250,005.

To all 'II'ILOHL it 'IZMLZ/ concern:

Be it known that I. Josnrn L. Snannoss, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Everett, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dumping-Hoppers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the construction and operation of dumping-seows or d umpinghoppers in general; and it consists in certain improvements whereby the dumping delivery of the hopper is rendered more certain and expeditious and difficulties due to clogging and arch-forming wholly eliminated.

In the drawings hereto annexed, which illustrate an embodiment of my invention, 1 have shown in several views a hopper-section of a dumping-scow.

Figure 1 shows such a hopper-compartment in cross-section and the nature and consequence of the clogging to which hoppers of this character are too often subjected. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of a hopper-compartment, showing my improvements thereto attached; and Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the hoppercompartment shown in Fig. 2.

The heavier and more homogeneous clays and mudssuch as, for instance, the blue clay commonly found in dredging salt-water channels is by reason of its close and compact consistency often a difficult material to dump from the hopper of a dumping-scow or other vehicle used in dredging and the like, for the reason that the clay, &c., settles upon itself in the dumping-hopper and when the dumping-gate is open instead of falling out crects itself into an arch over the opening and refuses to be dislodged except by the application of means sufficiently violent to be persuasive. This difficulty is probably most serious in the case of dumping-scows which are very heavily laden and which have to be towed from the dredging-ground into open water before they are dumped in order not to deposit the dredged material into shallow water, where it might form an obstruction possibly as serious as the one under process of removal: \Vhen the clay or mud clogs, as I have described, in the dumping-scow, it is customary to bring the towing-steamer alongside and disintegrate the mass with a powerful stream from a hose. This, however, is, in the first place, expensive and sometimes dangerous, because the scow itself, for obvious reasons of economy, is nearly always heavily laden and the margin of surplus flotation is small. It

may, therefore, be rather a serious matter, especially in rough water, to add the weight of water injected from a hose to the weight of material already in the hopper-compartments.

In Fig. l the situation above described is illustrated. F F are the inclined side walls of the dumping-hopper, and E E the dumping-gate suspended, as is usual, by the'chain E. The dumping-gate E is open; but the wing masses M of material in the hopper sliding together have nipped the key mass M, which is shown in shaded lines in Fig. 1, so that the whole contents of the hopper forms an effective arch which will remain suspended over the dump-opening an indefinite time. It will be seen also that this arch is a very ditlicult one for the men engaged in the work to get at and break, for the very reason that its most highly-compressed and therefore effective portion is at the bottom of the mass, where it cannot be got at.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a hopper-compartment of a dumping-scow in cross-section with my improvement-s attached. From end to end of the hopper-compartment there extend beams or girders (I, which may be of wood or metal and of any suitable and desired shape. Loosely hinged to the girders G there are suspended the guard-boards A, which also extend from end to end of the hopper-compartment. These guard boards will naturally hang in a substantially vertical position; but in order to insure their retention of this vertical position while the scow is being loaded there may be provided the bridle B, which consists of a wire rope secured at the ends to the lower edges of the guard-boards A, passing thence around guides B and through one of the links of the dump-gate hoisting-chain E, as at Stops D are also secured to the end walls of the hopper-compartment, so that when the chain E is hoisted and the dumpgate E closed the guard-boards A may be drawn against the stops D and held firmly in vertical position. The hopper-compartment being filled, all the spaces thereof are occupied by mud or clay or other dredged material in the usual manner. IVhen the scow has arrived at the dumping-ground, the chain E is released, allowing the dump-gates E to fall. The central or key mass of the hopper contents is now isolated from the wing masses by the guard-boards A and exerts its weight vertically upon the core of material immediately over the dump-gate, and as there are no wing masses allowed to slide in and nip chainE is lowered, leaves the guard-boards A free to swing inward toward each other, and the weight of the wing masses of material in the hopper causes the gates to swing to the dotted-line position, (marked A in Fig. 2,) in which position the guard-boards are substantially parallel to the side walls F of the hopper, and consequently offer little or no resistance to the dumping of the wing masses.

I believe it to be preferable to have the guard-boards which isolate the key mass of the hopper contents hung so that they will swing after the key mass is discharged; but as the discharge of the key mass in advance of the wing masses is the principal object this may be secured by the provision of stationary guard-boards which stand in the vertical position of the guard-boards A, as shown in Fig. 2. Such stationary guard-boards would undoubtedly ofier more resistance to thedischarge of the wing masses, but would not necessarily prove a serious obstacle to their removal.

I- claim as my invention- 1. In a dumping-hopper the combination of the dumping-gate and guard-boards extending part way to the bottom of the hopper above the dumping-gate to isolate the key mass of the hopper contents.

2. In a dumping-hopper,the combination of the dumping-gate and swinging guard-boards extending part way to the bottom of the hopper above the dumping-gate to isolate the key mass of the hopper contents.

3. In adumping-hopper, the combination of the dumping-gate, swinging guard-boards extending part way to the bottom of the hopper, and means to hold the guard-boards substantially vertical while the dumping-gate is closed.

4t. In a dumping-hopper, the combination of inclined side walls, dumping-gate, swinging guard-boards extending partway to the bottom of the hopper, to isolate the key mass of the hopper contents, and movable to a position of substantial parallelism to the inclined side Walls, to release the wing masses of the hopper contents.

5. In'a dumping-hopper,the combination of the dumping-gate, its chain, swinging guardboards, and means controlled by the dumping-chain to hold the guard-boards substantially vertical while the dumping-gate is closed.

6. In a dumpinghopper,the dumping-gate, swinging guard-boards extending part way to the bottom of the hopper, dumping-chain, bridle, and guard-board stops.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts,this

24th day of February, 1905.

JOSEPH L. SEARFOSS. 

